Kaine Parker (Earth-616)
| Quotation = The scars are gone. The degeneration is gone. But for the first time in my life... I'm not dying. For the first time in my life, I realize I don't have to be the man I see in the mirror. I may not be able to forget my past... But I can be someone better. For the first time in my life... I'm alive. | Speaker = Scarlet Spider | QuoteSource = Scarlet Spider Vol 2 1 | HistoryText = Birth The clone that would come to be known as Kaine was the Jackal's first attempt at cloning Peter Parker. Initially thought to be a success Kaine eventually became deformed due to a flaw in the cloning process. As he continued to degenerate he was left further deformed and mentally unstable. The Jackal allowed Kaine to live as a test subject and to see how long the clone would survive (far exceeding his expectations). Kaine experienced a strong feeling of rejection similar to that between a father and son. Kaine left Professor Warren and realized the partial degeneration also caused a slight amplification of the powers he genetically "inherited" from Peter. His strength, speed, and agility were comparable to the original Peter's, but he also gained precognitive powers (a so-called "precognitive sense") as well, which shows him flashes of the future. (This new ability has been assumed to be an amplified version of Peter's spider-sense). He also possessed a "Mark of Kaine," a corrosive touch that he used to leave eaten away hand prints on his victims' faces. The Jackal went on to create another clone; the man who would become Ben Reilly. When the Jackal used Reilly against Peter, the ensuing battle left Reilly and the Jackal (really a clone of Warren) for dead. They both managed to survive; the Jackal placed himself into suspended animation in a cloning pod to awaken later; and Reilly left New York upon realizing that he was the clone. Behind the scenes, Norman Osborn managed to have the files on Ben and Peter switched, so that the Jackal would think Peter was the clone and Ben was the real deal. Consulting the Jackal's files, Kaine also believed the same, so he followed Ben Reilly throughout his "exile". For a time, he found love in the arms of police detective Louise Kennedy of Salt Lake City, but when he discovered she was working for the criminals, coupled with Kaine's increased cellular degeneration, pushed him even further towards insanity. After killing Louise (Although a part of him still loved her), Kaine continued to stalk Ben, making it appear as though Janine Godbe, the woman Ben had come to love, had committed suicide and then framed Ben for various murders he committed (Kaine and Ben had the same fingerprints). He hoped by doing this that he could give who he thought was the clone (Peter) the life he could never have. Return to New York When Ben returned to New York to visit a sick Aunt May (since revealed to be a genetically altered actress) Kaine followed. By this time Kaine had become a feared and respected mob hit-man. When he discovered that Ben was in the city he hounded him to try and prevent Ben from involving himself in Peter's life. It was at this time that his enhanced spider-sense warned him that someone would kill Mary Jane and because of this Kaine went on a killing spree--killing anyone who seemed a potential threat. Among those he killed were villains Doctor Octopus, and the Grim Hunter. This (of course) attracted the attention of Spider-man and the Scarlet Spider. The wave of killings was put up on police bulletin boards nationwide and Kaine's distinctive M.O. was recognized in Salt Lake City there Louise Kennedy's ex-partner immediately left for New York to bring the killer to justice. Trial of Peter Parker Peter wanted Kaine to stand trial for what he had done, but Kaine initially refused. The two fought and ended up getting dragged into a mock-trial where Spider-Man was on trial, Kaine was his defense attorney, Carnage was the prosecutor, several Ravencroft Institute inmates were the jury, and a powerful being known as Judas Traveller was the judge. During the one-sided trial, Kaine tried to physically fight off all those who were against Spider-Man before Traveller returned them to their previous place of battle. Peter was eventually imprisoned for Kaine's crimes (as all three individuals had the same fingerprints), but after a period of time Ben took his place in prison. After an incident involving a super-powered villainess named Stunner, a weakened Kaine still refused to confess to his crimes. Spider-Man responded by knocking Kaine out and webbing him up before heading to the courthouse. Kaine reawakened before they arrived and struggled again with Spider-Man refusing to confess. At this point, Kaine admitted that he had done everything to protect Peter's life and revealed that he was the first clone of Peter, now partially degenerated. Spider-Man decided that if Kaine would not reveal the truth, then he would reveal his true identity to the entire courtroom and end everything. Kaine pleaded for Peter not to do this and before Peter could reveal the truth Kaine confessed to the murders and left the "Mark of Kaine" on the Judge's podium. Kaine was then taken into custody. Maximum Clonage After the trial Peter and Ben decided once and for all to determine who the real Peter Parker is. They used Seward Trainers lab to do the test, and found that Ben was the original and Peter the clone (secretly Seward was under the influence of Osborn and altered the results), this pushed Peter over the edge and he, in a fit of rage, struck Mary Jane when she tried to stop him from killing Ben. Ashamed of what he done Peter fled the lab. After Peter gave in to the news that he was the clone and Ben the true Peter Parker, he allied himself with the Jackal. But Kaine refused to let him throw his life away. He confronted the Jackal with the full intent of destroying him, when the Jackal manipulated his mind once more and led Kaine to believe he could be cured of the flaw triggering the degeneration process. Once the Jackal revealed that he had lied again, Kaine left feeling dejected. He went back to Mary Jane for answers, and after a conversation about power and responsibility, Kaine returned to the Jackal's lab in time to assist Ben in a battle against numerous Spider-clones. In the ensuing battle Kaine saved the Jackal from Spidercide but was then impaled on a masonry spike. When he asked why Kaine simply replied, "You gave me life." The Jackal, curiously, then placed Kaine in a regeneration pod. When the pod was next seen, it was empty. The Return of Kaine During Reilly's time as Spider-Man, some of the world's strongest fighters were pitted against one another in a fighting competition called the Great Game, a fighting tournament in which wealthy people wagered on the fighters for their amusement. One of the Game's main sponsors, James Johnsmeyer, found the pod containing the revived Kaine, and decided to initiate him into the competition, sending the Rhino to fight him. After Kaine's refusal and escape, thanks to temporary partner Shannon, Johnsmeyer still attempted to involve Kaine by allowing other Game competitors to attack him (Joystick and Polestar). Spider-Man interfered in the skirmish and got sidetracked by Joystick and Polestar while Kaine gave a near-fatal beating to the Rhino and escaped with Shannon. Before they were able to get away, Spider-Man had managed to tag Shannon with a tracer and he pursued them once Polestar and Rhino were taken into custody. He found them moments before the police, but after an incident that threatened to kill the officers, Kaine and Shannon escaped again. This time, Kaine's destination was Johnsmeyer's headquarters. Spider-Man found them once again after Kaine managed to single-handedly destroy all of Johnsmeyer's rooftop security defenses, but once inside, Johnsmeyer revealed that Shannon--who was still working for Johnsmeyer during the entire ordeal--had been manipulating and deceiving Kaine. Kaine, not wanting to become a puppet of anyone ever again, tried to kill Shannon but was persuaded by Spider-Man not to do so. Kaine left, vowing to take down every sponsor of the Great Game. Kaine's Redemption During a later encounter with Ben Reilly, in which Janine Godbe returned to the man she loved, Kaine finally brought himself to let go of his hatred for his brother, even saving Ben's life after nearly leaving him to die in a burning diner. Encouraged by his brother's example (as well as finally acknowledging Ben as his brother rather than his foe), Kaine handed himself over to the law, as Janine (who was wanted for the murder of her abusive father) did the same. Several months later, however, he escaped from jail alongside other super-powered criminals. Kaine broke out to try and stop Norman Osborn after finding out that he was still alive and had masterminded the Clone Saga, and briefly worked against Osborn's agents in southern Europe. Dark Reign Kaine later returned to New York City, attacking Spider-Man as he tried to track down Raptor. He revealed that he has sought Raptor out, hoping that he could cure his cellular degeneration, and attacked Spider-Man to keep him from the villain. When Raptor attacked Harry Osborn and Peter's cousins at Aunt May's house, Kaine appeared, having been working with Raptor the whole time. He exposed Peter's identity as Spider-Man and stated that Peter was a clone of Reilly and should be killed since he was the closest thing to Ben. Peter beat Raptor unconscious and escaped. Raptor had lied to Kaine about being able to cure his degeneration to gain an ally in his quest for revenge. Furious, Kaine breaks his neck, seemingly killing him. Grim Hunt Kaine is attacked by Alyosha and Ana Kravinoff for being associated with spiders. However, seeing as he wasn't a true spider, they decided to punish him by keeping him alive. Nevertheless, they wounded Kaine severely enough that he flees to Peter Parker's apartment seeking help. Peter hides him in the bathroom, then leaves to attempt to stop the Kravinoffs. When we next see Kaine, he has shaved and cut his hair, and now looks like Peter (albeit with a badly scarred face). When Spider-Man is "killed" resurrecting Kraven, it was discovered that it was actually Kaine under disguised, and he had given his life to save Peter. At the end of the Grim Hunt, Kaine is buried as a Parker but is later seen rising from the dead, with mutated features, including extra eyes in a spider-like pattern on his forehead, with the Jackal saying 'Rise, cursed one. Rise... Tarantula'. Kaine is then further changed by the Jackal into a tarantula-like creature, with 4 spider legs growing from his back and a spider's face. Spider-Island The Jackal makes him the first of his army of individuals to use during the Spider-Island event. Kaine however follows the Jackal merely because he is under his control. In his final confrontation with the original, Spider-Man throws him into a tank filled with "the cure", a concentration of Anti-Venom's symbiote to help cure the people of Spider-Island. The cure does more than turn Kaine from a monster, it also stabilizes Kaine's DNA and makes him a perfect clone of Peter Parker; similar to Ben Reilly. Kaine then helps with the retaliation against the Spider Queen, Adriana Soria, in Central Park and does what the original Peter Parker cannot do to anyone; he kills the Queen. Becoming the Scarlet Spider Earning money from stopping robbers, and robbing, Kaine started a trip around the USA to enter Mexico. During his stay in Houston, Texas, he saved a young girl from human traffickers and left her in a hospital. A super-powered villain interrupted there to search for her, Aracely, and Kaine had the feeling that he had to save her, instead of leaving Houston. In a scarlet suit similar to Spider-Man's, Kaine faced the Salamander and managed to defeat him, being named by him as "Araña Escarlata" (Scarlet Spider in spanish). When the people at the scene cheered him, and told them they hadn't heroes and needed one and feeling responsible for Aracely, Kaine stayed in Houston as Scarlet Spider, their hero. In following adventures, Kaine found himself against the Assassins Guild, the Watchdogs and Ana Kravinoff, who tried to kill him in order to free her father from the curse of immortality. Minimum Carnage After Kaine was alerted about Carnage's return and his coming to Texas in order to retrieve something from a NASA research center, he tried to stop him, but Kasady managed to use a interdimensional transport called Prometheus Pit with the help of beings from the Microverse to be transported there. Venom, who also was following Carnage's steps, joined Scarlet Spider in the search for Kasady, and they were transported to the Microverse by the Prometheus Pit. Both are separated once they passed through the Pit, Kaine was found by a healer being called the Redeemer, who was wanted by the Marquis Radu, the leader of Carnage's allies. After betraying his allies, Carnage killed them and started searching Marquis Radu, crossing paths with Kaine and the Redeemer. Both Scarlet Spider and Kasady were captured and bought to Marquis Radu's base along Venom, who was captured previously along his allies, the Enigma Force, a team of adventurers who were trying to capture Carnage as well. The symbiotes of Venom and Carnage were replicated and used to create an army which could make Radu control the Microverse. But Carnage managed to take control over the symbiote army and used it to escape to the regular universe, where he was finally defeated by the combined efforts of Venom and Scarlet Spider, and a special weapon given to them by the Enigma Force. After being stung by the Scarlet Spider, Cletus cured his wounds, but was left in a catatonic state, meaning that the symbiote was now in full control of his body, although it put in custody once more and sedated. The Other After a young girl victim of human trafficking is found dead, Kaine starts a crossing through Houston to hunt down and erradicate human traffickers from the city, vowing to use his powers to hunt down monsters like his old self. During his crusade, he finds himself against the ones responsible for trafficking Aracely, Carlos Lobo and his sister. During a battle against them, Kaine was killed. His body was wrapped in a cocoon made of spider webs, in a similar way to when Spider-Man died after facing Morlun. He found himself in a vision talking with Ero, who explained he was who resurrected Kaine after Kraven's Grim Hunt in order to allow Kaine embrace him, as Peter Parker didn't. Kaine didn't wanted to become "the Spider" and a monster beyond the one he already was trying to forget, and initially denied Ero's offer. But as Aracely still needed his help, and had no choice but to embrace The Other, and was reborn with a new more arachnid appearance and augmented powers. Kaine forced the Lobo brothers to flee, as he left Carlos moribund. But with his human nature gone, Kaine almost made Aracely his prey, who managed to use her powers to make Kaine's human side resurface and make him revert to his human form. Kaine returned to his "normal" lifestyle, as he also started a relationship with Annabelle Adams, the bartender of the Four Seasons Hotel. After settling a debt with the Assassins Guild and having faced the Jackal and Spider-Man, Kaine was confronted by Kraven the Hunter whom begun to torture him while dressed as Ben Reilly. | Powers = Kaine possesses various superhuman attributes as a result of his unique physiology. As a clone of Spider-Man, Kaine began his life with powers identical to Spider-Man's though some of these powers were altered as a result of Kaine undergoing cellular degeneration, although once he was cured of his tarantula mutation and of his cellular degeneration, his powers have been reduced to around Peter Parker's strength. After embracing The Other, Kaine resurfaced with new augmented abilities. Superhuman Strength: Like Peter Parker, Kaine possesses superhuman strength. Initially, his strength was equal to Spider-Man's and he could lift approximately 10 tons. Over time due to mutation, Kaine's physical strength has dramatically increased to the point of now being able to lift up to 30 tons. He has proven to be able to beat the Rhino unconscious and hold his own against Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, and Spidercide at the same time. Following his reset of powers from being cured of his degeneration, along with embracing The Other, it is assumed his strength level is roughly around class 20, similar to when Peter had done so. Unlike Peter Parker, Kaine generally has no restraints on using his super strength against enemies with typical human durability, and as such, is capable of severely injuring enemies with normal attacks. Superhuman Speed: Kaine is capable of running and moving at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Superhuman Stamina: Kaine's augmented musculature is much more efficient than that of a normal human being. As a result, his muscles produce lesser amounts of fatigue toxins during physical activity than do those of ordinary humans. He can exert himself physically at peak capacity for at least several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. Superhuman Durability: Kaine's body is tougher and more resistant to some types of physical injury than that of a normal human. Kaine's bodily tissues are resistant to powerful impact or blunt force trauma. He can withstand impacts, such as falling from several stories, being repeatedly struck with superhuman force or by several powerful energy blasts, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no injury himself. Superhuman Agility: Kaine's agility, balance and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. In spite of his increased size and mass, Kaine is still just as agile as Spider-Man. Superhuman Reflexes: Kaine's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are more efficient than those of an ordinary human by a factor of fifteen. Wall-Crawling: Kaine is also able to stick to virtually any surface and crawl across it just as Spider-Man is capable of. His mental control over this ability has been increased to such a degree, he can rip a wall down just by tugging at it hard enough with his palms. Mark Of Kaine: This same attribute has also resulted in deformity in his hands. He can channel this same energy endothermically through his hands and leave a severe burn mark on a person by making skin to skin contact with them. He typically leaves this mark across a person's face, though it is presumed he can do the same to other parts of the body. Non-offensive usage of this power allows Kaine to easily burn his long hair to a shorter length along with his beard without burning himself in the process. Sting of Kaine: Kaine originally had two retractable claws on the back of each hand that are similar in overall appearance to the natural bone claws of the mutant Wolverine. The exact composition of Kaine's claws are not known but they are extremely sharp. Combined with his great strength, Kaine is able to cut most conventional materials up to and including some forms of metal. After his powers were altered in Spider-Island, he now has single bone like stingers that extend from his forearms. They resemble Peter's Stingers that he acquired in The Others storyline. Nightvision: After Spider-Island Kaine acquired night vision to his powerset. Biological/Organic Webbing Generation: Kaine has the ability to organically produce his own silk webbing from glands within his forearms, limited by his body's health and nutrition. Psychic Alignment with Arthropods: Kaine has an unknown method of creating a psychic alignment with his environment, specifically a more empathic and sympathetic relationship with spiders and insects. While connected to the varying populations of spiders he was unable to communicate with them directly or command them. | Abilities = While Kaine has had no formal training, he is a formidable hand to hand combatant and uses an unusual type of freestyle technique similar to that of Spider-Man, though Kaine has no qualms against fighting in a more brutal style. It allows him to make full use of his strength and agility. Kaine is also as intelligent as Spider-Man is and, presumably, has the same level of creativity and knowledge of chemistry. While he does not use web shooters as Spider-Man does, he is capable of creating them and using them should he choose to do so. Kaine knows how to speak a little bit of Spanish and Japanese. | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = Modified version of Spider-Man's Stealth Suit, which allows him to turn invisible and be invulnerable to sonic attacks. Serves as his Scarlet Spider costume. | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = * Though never explicitly stated within the story, in interviews afterwards the creators revealed that the Mark of Kaine was meant to be another analog of one of Spider-Man's powers, namely the ability to cling to walls. * It is unclear as of yet, but it seems that after Kaine's encounter with Anti-Venom's "cure", Kaine's personality has changed to be more like Peter's also, other than just being a perfect clone. He shows this by his use of humor in response to Peter's, "Parker Brother's" comment and calling dibs on Peter's stealth suit (he didn't want to use the standard costume, due to him being killed last time he used it during the Grim Hunt story-line). * He is shown to hate his superhero name (possibly due to it last being used by Ben Reilly, a fellow clone. It is noted that Ben was also not very fond of the name, due to it being given to him by the press). * It was revealed that Madame Web locked the stealth suit's look to red, preventing Kaine from changing it back to black (it was the reason why he was called the "Scarlet Spider"). * Kaine's newfound powers (stingers, organic webbing, etc.) resemble the rebirth Peter went through during the events of "The Other", it is later revealed it was Ero who gave them to him. | Trivia = | Links = *Kaine's profile at Spiderfan.org *The Clone Saga Timeline }} Category:Clones Category:Clone Saga Category:Wallcrawling Category:Precogs Category:Superhuman Strength Category:Strength Class 25 Category:Parker Family Category:Insect Form Category:Invisibility Category:Claws Category:Criminals Category:Web-Slinging Category:Formerly Deceased Category:Arachnine Form Category:Human/Animal Hybrids